Coronavirus Global Update Podcast
1) Britain approves dual-strain Covid vaccine
The UK becomes the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine which targets both the original and Omicron variants of the virus. Also: Covid infection numbers surge in the Marshall Islands, Moderna ...Show More
2) Millions of people in Beijing to be tested after outbreak
Queues form outside hundreds of testing centres in the city's Chaoyang district. Also: the Peruvian government is urged to help poorer families affected by Covid, and the Indian politician Sonia Gandh...Show More
3) North Korea registers over 2 million cases
Sixty-six people are said have died, nine days after the outbreak was first acknowledged. Meanwhile, President Biden says the US has offered Covid vaccines to Pyongyang but has received no response. A...Show More
4) North Korea sends in army to cope with Covid surge
State media says North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un strongly criticized healthcare officials for what he called a botched response to epidemic prevention, as cases soar to more than a million. Also Chin...Show More
5) Face mask rules relaxed for EU air travel
Wearing a mask on flights and in airports in Europe will no longer be mandatory. Also: Shanghai gradually eases its lockdown restrictions, and Denmark suspends its general immunisation programme.
6) North Korea says its covid outbreak is spreading
Kim Jong-Un said it was a "great disaster" for the country. Also: China pulls out as host of the Asian Cup football finals next year, and New Zealand's prime minister tests positive for Covid-19.
7) The White House says more than a million Americans have now lost their lives to Covid-19
President Biden says the US must remain vigilant against the pandemic. Also: A former British prime minister calls on rich countries to do more to increase funding for global vaccinations, tests and t...Show More
8) WHO chief warns of danger of assuming pandemic is ending
The head of the World Health Organisation says it's dangerous to assume the pandemic is coming to an end; Also tens of thousands of Germans are due to protest against Covid restrictions. And the airli...Show More
9) World's first Covid lockdown anniversary
Eleven million people were quarantined in the Chinese city of Wuhan on this day in 2020. Also: Red list restrictions come into force in New Zealand and a new sub variant of Omicron is detected in 40 c...Show More
10) BBC investigation reveals true number of deaths in Iran
The figure is double that of the official tally. Also: Scientists fear Covid could spread to wild animals, and tourists bring the disease to an island that had escaped it